An antioxidant found in grapes may make fruit stay fresher longer.
The antioxidant, trans-resveratrol, is one of the components of red wine that is thought to combat heart disease and cancer by neutralizing oxidizing agents including free radicals.
The substance has previously been found to kill fungi on fruit and is known to fight diseases caused by yeasts and moulds that wilt many fruits, vegetables and cereals.
Modern agriculture is plagued by fruit losses due to microbial infections and natural aging during storage. Moreover, synthetic pesticides pose health risks to humans and can cause negative environmental effects.
Researchers wondered whether trans-resveratrol’s antioxidant properties would help to conserve fruit and found that a coating of the substance protected fruit from Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that causes fruit such as apples and grapes to shrivel.
Apples dipped in a trans-resveratrol solution had a greatly increased shelf life, from two weeks to three months. Similarly, the shelf life of grapes doubled to two weeks after being dipped in the substance.
As little as four micrograms of trans-resveratrol per grape was needed to produce the effect, researchers say. This amount is only 50 percent more than naturally found in grape skins.
In apples, the same low-level amount of trans-resveratrol kept 90 percent of apples that had been exposed to B. cinerea fresh after 60 days. Some remained fresh even after 75 days, whereas untreated apples shriveled within two weeks.
Researchers found that the substance also protected tomatoes, avocados and green peppers. They are looking for less-expensive methods of producing trans-resveratrol and plan to develop a commercial fruit-preservation system in about 18 months.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry January 1, 2003;51(1):82-9
While apples contain far more carbohydrate than is healthy for most, this is a fascinating study with absolutely enormous potential. As the study also states, the researcher has used the technique to preserve vegetables such as avocados, tomatoes and peppers. There is no reason to believe that it would not work for most vegetables.
One of my central strategies is to use food as a tool to help optimize people’s health. Central to using food as a drug is to use the highest quality food available.
This is one of the reasons why I am such a big fan of the Vacu Vin Food Saver and the Vacu Vin Wine Saver. This particular brand of products -- the wine saver can be used for other liquids besides wine, including fish oil, and the coffee saver can be used for all kinds of foods -- remove the air from food or liquid storage containers. Since air has oxygen, removing the air is one of the most important proactive things you can do to improve the shelf life of vegetables.
Applying an external antioxidant that has been widely promoted for its health benefit is also a prudent step in the right direction. It would seem that using resveratrol powder and producing a solution to soak your vegetables would be a powerful way to extend the life of your vegetables. I intend to do some personal research on this and report my findings to you in a future newsletter.